Going into visiting Amsterdam, Netherlands… otherwise known as Holland, I only knew a few things… the city of Anne Frank, Heinekin and surrounded by Canals, Marijuana, and Prostitution. This pretty much sums it up… or so I thought. Amsterdam was much more than a liberal city. It was a city where all worries vanish, including mine.

I had an amazing time in Amsterdam…possibly tops my trip to the Swiss Alps.

When I arrived in Amsterdam and got to the hostel… I checked in, carried my luggage up the five STEEP flights of stairs and left for a coffee shop called the Grey Area.

This is where I bought and smoked my first pre-rolled joint…great atmosphere very mellow and relaxed.

Eventually the guys arrived Thursday night and we went out on the town for a few beers. It wasn’t a late night because their friend.. Uncle Davies… was arriving Friday morning between 10 and 11 a.m. The first thing we did that day was go to the Anne Frank Huis. We def should have expected a long line and contemplated leaving and coming back on a different day; however, we thought that whenever we went, the line would be long. After all, Anne Frank’s diary is a world known story.

I never read The Diary of Anne Frank… only heard of her and learned about her in classes so experiencing her story in 3D was mesmerizing. I was able to see her house. It was well preserved and I learned that her father did not want any furniture back in the house. This kept it looking the way the Nazi’s left it after discovering the Franks. Anne Frank was a strong girl and would have grown up to be an amazing woman. It is unfortunate the way the world used to be, but I suppose a way of thinking about it is without the past, we would never know.

After Anne Frank Fianna and I showed the guys our favorite coffee shop so far. Cannot remember the name, but it played Bob Marley music among others and had parrots.

To the left of the picture is the small corner where the parrots were, unfortunately I did not have a strong enough flash to capture them. But chilling with the parrots was definitely an experience.